Chelsea will hope to build on the two wins in the past week when they take on Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
The 2022/23 Premier League will continue this weekend with Gameweek 27, as get closer to the season’s final stretch. The action on Saturday will kick off at the Vitality Stadium with the match between Bournemouth and Liverpool. Chelsea will be in action after that as they lock horns with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
The pressure is ramping up on Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City. The Foxes were supposed to kick on towards the top half after routing Tottenham Hotspur last month. But since then, they have suffered four defeats in a row, dropping to 15th on the table while bowing out of the FA Cup. And they were one of the biggest losers in the Premier League last weekend.
On the other hand, Chelsea might be turning a corner after a horrendous start to 2023. The Blues were on a six-game winless run before beating Leeds United last weekend. Graham Potter’s men followed that up with a 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund, thus coming from behind to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Potter will now be eager to see his team embark on a memorable run.
Chelsea eked out a 2-1 win over Leicester City in the reverse fixture, with Raheem Sterling scoring a match-winning brace. The game also saw Conor Gallagher seeing red before the half-hour mark. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
Working towards improved form 📈
"We’re a group and a team that this season has been through adverse moments and come out the other side. The players are very much together, we’ve had a good training week and are looking to take that into the game." pic.twitter.com/s6oPNnbKrg
— Leicester City (@LCFC) March 9, 2023
Brendan Rodgers has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Chelsea on Saturday, the Leicester City manager will be bereft of the services of four first-team players.
Rodgers is sweating over the fitness of Harvey Barnes, who twisted his ankle against Southampton last weekend. But the Englishman’s injury is not serious, and Rodgers has not given hope of having him available on Saturday. In addition, Jonny Evans should be in the matchday squad this weekend.
But neither player will likely be fit enough to start on Saturday. Meanwhile, James Justin (Achilles), Victor Kristiansen (ankle), Ryan Bertrand (knee), and Youri Tielemans (ankle) remain on the sidelines.
Danny Ward picks himself between the sticks, with Leicester City likely to line up in a 4-4-2 formation in front of him. Ricardo Pereira was fit enough to start last weekend and should be in the eleven again versus Chelsea. The Portuguese full-back will likely join Wout Faes, Harry Souttar, and Timothy Castagne in the defensive unit.
Meanwhile, the formation change, forced due to Barnes’s injury, will force James Maddison to start on the left flank. But the English playmaker will often veer infield, allowing Castagne overlapping opportunities. That way Leicester City can also test the vulnerable Chelsea defence.
Maddison will likely accompany Tete, Wilfred Ndidi, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the middle of the park. Finally, Kelechi Iheanacho and Jamie Vardy should be the two strikers, with the latter getting the opportunity to make his mark in a rare start.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Ward; Pereira, Souttar, Faes, Castagne; Tete, Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall, Maddison; Iheanacho, Vardy
Chelsea
Unlike his counterpart in the Leicester City dugout, Graham Potter does not have any new injury concerns to deal with ahead of the trip to the King Power Stadium. The Chelsea boss will be without six first-team players on Saturday.
Potter continues to sweat over the fitness of Cesar Azpilicueta (concussion) and Mason Mount (abdomen). And the duo will unlikely be fit enough to start, even if they are available. Meanwhile, Edouard Mendy (finger), Thiago Silva (knee), N’Golo Kante (hamstring), and Armando Broja (knee) remain on the sidelines.
But the good news is that Kante is closing in on returning to action. And the Frenchman might even feature before the international break. Mount and Azpilicueta are also in the same boat, albeit without recovering from a long-term injury.
Watch Graham Potter look ahead to our game with Leicester! https://t.co/pIoDJ0YuUv
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 10, 2023
Kepa Arrizabalaga picks himself between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 3-4-3 formation in front of him. Benoit Badiashile was ineligible to feature in the UEFA Champions League fixture versus Borussia Dortmund. But the Frenchman will return to the starting eleven, lining up alongside Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana in the central defensive unit.
Potter has no reason to tinker with the rest of the starting eleven, considering he has chanced upon a winning combination. So Mateo Kovacic will don the armband again, with Enzo Fernandez being his central midfield partner.
Reece James and Ben Chilwell are Chelsea’s biggest game-changers and will start as the wing-backs again. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling, and Joao Felix will link up in the offensive unit. So Mykhaylo Mudryk, Christian Pulisic, Noni Madueke, and Hakim Ziyech will be backup options on the bench.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Kepa; Fofana, Koulibaly, Badiashile; James, Enzo Fernandez, Kovacic, Chilwell; Felix, Havertz, Sterling
Key Stats
- Leicester City have won just one of their last six home league games against Chelsea (D2 L3), winning 2-0 in January 2021. They lost this fixture 3-0 last season. Meanwhile, the Blues are looking to complete their first league double over Leicester since the 2016/17 campaign following their 2-1 win against them at Stamford Bridge in August.
- With 24 goals scored and 25 goals conceded, Chelsea’s Premier League games have seen fewer goals than any other side this season (49). Meanwhile, only Manchester City’s (91), Arsenal’s (84) and Tottenham’s (82) games have seen more goals than Leicester’s (79 – F36 A43).
- Chelsea are without a win in ten away games in all competitions (D3 L7), their longest winless streak on the road since going 17 without victory from April 2000 to January 2001. The Blues have scored just four goals in this ten-match period, their fewest over a run of ten away outings since August-December 1993 (also 4).
- Leicester City have lost 15 Premier League games this season, behind only Southampton (16) in 2022/23, their most in a single campaign since 2018/19 (16). Brendan Rodgers has never suffered more league defeats in a season in his managerial career (also 15 with Swansea City in 2011/12).
- Raheem Sterling scored his first Chelsea two goals in the Blues’ 2-1 win over Leicester City in August. He has netted braces in his last two Premier League games against Leicester, having scored just once in his first 14 appearances against them.
Player to Watch
Kai Havertz
Chelsea might be turning a corner after the last two results. And a lot of that is down to a player who might be rediscovering his touch amid a largely forgettable season. We are talking about Kai Havertz, whose late penalty sealed the deal for Chelsea.
The German international has recently emerged on Real Madrid’s radar. So despite his oft-panned shortcomings, he will feel he must be doing something right. And Havertz will look to focus on the positives to deliver the goods for Chelsea. And he will remain focused on the job at hand as the Blues strive to turn around their fortunes.
Prediction
Leicester City 1-2 Chelsea
The match features two teams that will be desperate for the three points on Saturday. Leicester City will be eager to pull away from the relegation zone and achieve safety. On the other hand, Chelsea will look to bank on the recent mini-winning run and keep the faint top-four hopes alive.
Meanwhile, the Foxes have failed to have a shot on target in their last two Premier League games. Since game-by-game shot data became available (2003/04), no team has ever failed to land a shot on target in three consecutive Premier League games. And Leicester will not become the first side to do so.
But despite pouncing on Chelsea’s vulnerability, the hosts will let their own susceptibility shine. And the Blues should continue their recent winning run with goals from Kai Havertz and Joao Felix. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 victory for Graham Potter and his charges.